Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Buzzing in My Head

Qi Manman didn’t realize her own mother didn’t truly believe her, so when she saw her mother putting things away, she hurriedly began to dress and comb her hair in coordination.

“Mom, where’s Grandma?”

As soon as Qi Manman left the room, she didn’t see Mrs. Qi, so she quickly asked.

Yi Meng grabbed the little girl’s hand and headed to the kitchen. “Your grandma went out for a bit and will be back later. Manbao, mom is very busy today, you just sit beside me and keep me company, alright?”

“Alright!”

Qi Manman agreed very quickly.

Brother Shi hadn’t woken up yet, and no one was there to play with her. Grandma wasn’t home either, so she could only keep her mom company!

The mother and daughter arrived in the kitchen. Yi Meng handed a small stool to the little girl and broke a small piece of mixed-grain bread for her to nibble on while she continued her work.

On the road to escape from famine, it’s unclear what situations they might encounter. If it’s safe, they can start a fire to cook.

But if it’s not that safe, they’ll need something convenient and quick to eat.

This era doesn’t have as many conveniences as the one she once lived in.

There’s no instant heat package, nor intentionally chewy instant noodles.

She needs to make as much food as possible that can be stored for a long time, relieve hunger, and won’t emit too much aroma.

This isn’t easy for her.

After getting up in the morning, the greens in the backyard were all pulled out and are now clean and drying outside, dripping water.

The vegetables on the road can’t be stored for too long, so Yi Meng plans to roast them into dried vegetables.

Dehydrated dried vegetables might not taste great, but they can be stored longer.

Because they’re roasted, they’re considered cooked. Plus, some seasoning was sprinkled during the roasting process, so the flavor won’t be too bad.

This is something Yi Meng developed after researching post-era instant noodle seasoning packs.

The method for processing vegetables is settled, next is the staple food.

Steamed buns can’t be stored for too long. Moreover, there’s only so much fine flour at home.

And with so many kids in the house, the young ones have weak stomachs and can’t eat coarse grains that adults do every meal.

The first concern is the children’s food; it needs to be made finer.

“Fried noodles then!”

Yi Meng muttered to herself as she dried out the hot water from the big pot, and put all the remaining fine flour at home into the pot to start frying.

Dry-fried noodles, also known as oil tea noodles.

Fry the noodles until they change color and release a fragrance, then take them out to cool on a cutting board. Add peanuts, sesame, sugar, etc., then use a rolling pin to crush them.

Wrap the cooled noodles in oil paper, and when eating, just open a pack, pour hot water over, stir, and it becomes a particularly fragrant and sweet paste.

“Mom, it smells so good!”

Qi Manman sniffed and swallowed, sniffed again, and swallowed again.

She had never smelled such a fragrance before!

Yi Meng smiled as she made a bowl for her daughter, just as she heard Qi Shilang’s cries coming from the fifth room.

She let her daughter drink the paste herself, and Yi Meng quickly went to tend to Qi Shilang.

When Qi Shilang finished dressing and grooming and came out, he saw Qi Manman sitting under the eaves outside the kitchen, holding a black porcelain bowl almost as big as her face, smiling at him.

There was a mark beside her mouth and her teeth exposed smeared with paste when she smiled.

“Sister, what are you eating?”

Qi Shilang quickly ran over, sniffing and stared eagerly at Qi Manman’s bowl.

Yi Meng was amused by her daughter’s appearance and also by Qi Shilang’s eager expression. “Xiao Shi, sit quietly, and I’ll bring you some paste.”

“Okay!”

As soon as Qi Shilang heard there was food, he immediately became an absolutely obedient cutie. He even carried a stool over himself and sat next to Qi Manman, tilted his head, and stared at his sister sipping the fragrant paste, swallowing every now and then.

“Brother Shi, you drink.”

Qi Manman noticed Brother Shi’s gaze and immediately offered her bowl.

Qi Shilang swallowed, looked reluctant, but shook his head, “You drink, sister. I’ll get my own from Aunt later.”

“Well, alright then!”

Qi Manman hesitated and glanced at Qi Shilang. Seeing him still looking eagerly, she thought for a while and said, “Then I won’t drink either, I’ll wait for yours to come out and we can drink together.”

“Alright!”

Qi Shilang was very happy with this arrangement.

This way, he doesn’t have to watch his sister drink.

Yi Meng poured boiling water over the oil tea noodles and added some lukewarm boiled water, stirred it, and made sure it wasn’t too hot before bringing it out to Qi Shilang.

The two little ones exchanged glances and then grinned, starting to slurp the paste.

Yi Meng watched the two little ones being so well-behaved and obedient, and felt very warm inside.

The oil tea noodles were already packed in oil paper, and she next started cutting vegetables.

Mixed grain buns also can’t be stored for too long, but dry pancake made of mixed grains can be stored a bit longer.

To add some flavor, Yi Meng decided to add chopped vegetables and salt when kneading the dough.

Adding salt can extend the storage time.

Some with vegetables will be eaten first, while those without will be eaten later.

Yi Meng was cutting vegetables while listening to the sounds outside.

Currently, the family is either out or busy in the backyard, and she’s the only adult at home taking care of two kids. She needs to be quite attentive.

Clang!

A crisp sound startled Yi Meng, who was distracted listening to the outside.

“Ah!”

A sharp pain in her fingertip.

The blade of the kitchen knife cut her finger, and bright red blood gushed out instantly.

Yi Meng frowned and hurriedly went to rinse off the blood.

Using warm water to wash away the blood didn’t stop the bleeding, so Yi Meng had to pinch the area above the wound to apply pressure to reduce bleeding, and quickly headed to her room.

This cut was quite deep and needed urgent attention. There were clean fine cloth and a small bottle of high-proof alcohol in the room; they would come in handy.

“Mom…”

Qi Manman opened her mouth to call for someone.

Yi Meng didn’t want the blood to scare the kids, so without turning her head, she said, “Mom’s going to find something, you and Xiao Shi wait for mom there.”

“Okay.”

Qi Manman responded and continued to share the rice paste with Brother Shi.

Actually, there wasn’t much rice paste, but because it was sweet, the two children savored it, sipping slowly as though sneaking treats like little foxes.

Yi Meng went back to the room, found the high-proof alcohol, and poured it over the wound.

“Ah!”

The burning stimulus of the alcohol over the wound caused a layer of thin sweat to instantly appear on Yi Meng’s forehead.

Enduring the pain, Yi Meng picked up the cloth to wrap her finger.

But then everything went dark, and Yi Meng collapsed onto the bed.

When she regained consciousness, Yi Meng was instantly stunned.

“Where is this?”

Yi Meng looked at the scene before her, her mind buzzing.

Heavens, you can’t be joking with me, right? I spent years adjusting to life after traveling through time, and now you’re going to make me travel again?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep